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Tag Archives: Homebrew Review

I was able to start trying this beer just 15 days after being brewed. It was in primary for 4 days, secondary on dry hop for 4 days, and now in the keg carbonating for 7. It’s possible this beer … Continue reading →

These are some long, long, long over due tasting notes of my first saison. As I mentioned in the brewing notes, I feel close to this style due to my heritage, having a small farm, and the open interpretation that is allowed with this style. Saisons are an interesting style. The saison style originates in the farm houses of Wallonia and was made with fresh hops, grains, a variety of adjuncts, and spices varying from farm to farm. It was the beer served to the farm hands and was likely a lower abv and had mixed fermentation. From my understanding the style has only a few strong requirements, high carbonation, very low FG, moderate yeast esters and phenols. The style is way more wide open than the BJCB guidelines suggest. I’ve enjoyed examples hopper, much lighter and darker, as well as much lower and higher ABV. Not to mention versions with brett or other mixed fermentations. Some of the best ones I’ve had have been brett fermented. Continue reading →

This is a review of my attempt to brew a traditional english mild using the brewing classic styles recipe. I’ve been all about session beers lately. It’s nice to be able to enjoy a pint, or two and not feel it in the morning. I feel like too many of the homebrewing recipes I come across start at 1065, and only go up from there. This beer started where many a homebrew stopped, 1.030, and… Continue reading →

This is a review of my first sour beer a berliner weisse made with 100% local grain. I split the batch into two versions, they are the same sour mashed wort and the same primary fermentation. Continue reading →

This is just a quick review of last years cider. I don’t make a ton of cider, I try to make a batch a year, it seems like the right thing to do living where I do. There are numerous orchards with in a short drive. You can even see quite a few wild apple trees along many of my local running routes. This is what it’s like living in converted farm county. Continue reading →

I finally got to sample of Bow Bog Brewing’s version of the pales in comparison along side my version. The basic idea was for the two us to brew the same recipe, using similar ingredients. The two of us ‘designed’ recipe fairly arbitrarily. During an email exchange we agreed on a style, I picked the hop bill, and Mike picked the grain bill. I don’t think either of us has much in the way of experience making recipes, but this came together surprisingly well. We were both happy with the outcome, but I think we both have ideas on how we’d change it to fit our ideal local rye pale ale.

This is my second attempt at a sweet stout, the first was a partial mash oatmeal stout, this was a small biab all grain batch designed from a recipe found on beersmithrecipes.com. I made a few changes to my recipe for scaling, in an attempt to smooth it out. Continue reading →

This is my first all grain batch, while I find it very had to be objective about my own beer, I’m happy with the results. Despite some of my brew day miscues. It’s not the recipe that it was designed to be do to those changes, but I don’t think it’s worse for it. While I have not tried the beer side by side with 21 A’s bitter american, it’s similar in spirit. Lowish ABV, light body, but not watery, and hoppy. Continue reading →

From reading the brew day post, the second attempt at a hoppy american wheat took a few unexpected turns. I struggled to get the wort out of the kettle after boil, this being my first time brewing with whole hops, and fresh hops. The recipe itself is super simple, dme and hops, and a big dry hop dose. Ultimately I’m trying to replicate three floyds gumball head I was aiming for a light bodied, very aromatic, hop flavored beer. I ended up with a very light bodied, astringent, chlorophyl flavored beer, with tons of dry hop aroma. Continue reading →

This is the first stout I’ve brewed, and I’m not really a big stout drinker, so I’m not sure this is a very qualified review this, but I’ll give it a go.
This is a very thick, rich stout. It has plenty of residual sugar, finishing at 1.018 will do that to you.